Sentence Counter

Free Online Sentence Counter

This sentence counter tells you how many sentences your text contains, updating live as you type. Beside the sentence count you also get words, characters, paragraphs, average words and characters per sentence, the longest sentence, and a per-sentence breakdown with length flags. Everything runs in your browser — your text is never uploaded, there is nothing to install, and it works on phone, tablet, and desktop.

How Sentences Are Counted

A sentence is recognised by ending punctuation: period (.), question mark (?), exclamation mark (!), or ellipsis (…). The tool splits your text on these markers and counts each non-empty fragment as one sentence. That matches what writers, editors, and academic guidelines normally mean by "sentence count."

Why Sentence Length Matters

Sentence length is one of the most reliable signals of readability. Most modern style guides — AP, GOV.UK Plain English, Hemingway, Yoast — recommend an average of 14-20 words per sentence for general audiences. Long sentences (over 25 words) are harder to follow; very short sentences (under 5) can feel choppy. This counter flags each sentence as short, good, or long, so you can spot rhythm issues at a glance.

Where a Sentence Counter Helps

• Academic writing — meeting assignment length requirements expressed in sentences
• SEO content — Yoast and similar plugins flag long sentences as a readability issue
• Editing and proofreading — finding overly long sentences that need to be broken up
• Style consistency — keeping a piece's rhythm even from paragraph to paragraph
• Language learning — counting and analysing sentences in a foreign-language text
• Speech writing — short sentences land better when spoken aloud

What Makes a Good Sentence Mix?

• Average 14-20 words — the sweet spot for readability across most reading levels
• Variety — short sentences punch; long sentences flow. Mix them.
• Under 25 words — anything longer should usually be broken up
• Active voice — keeps sentences leaner without changing meaning
• One idea per sentence — if a sentence has two and-clauses, consider splitting it

Privacy

Everything runs in your browser using JavaScript. Your text is never sent to a server or stored anywhere, so it stays completely private. The tool is 100% free, requires no sign-up, and works offline once the page is loaded.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the counter handle abbreviations like "Dr." or "U.S."?

The counter splits on periods, question marks, and exclamation marks. Abbreviations may cause minor over-counting in unusual cases, but for normal prose the count is highly accurate. For exact counts in heavily abbreviation-rich text, manually merge any over-split sentences.

What counts as a sentence?

Any non-empty group of text ending with a period, question mark, exclamation mark, or ellipsis. Headings or list items without ending punctuation also count if they end the line.

Is the average sentence length important?

Yes. Most readability formulas (Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, SMOG) use sentence length as one of two main inputs. Keeping the average between 14 and 20 words is a strong, easy-to-control lever for reader-friendly writing.

Is my text private?

Yes. All counting happens entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, saved, or shared. You can use the tool offline once the page has loaded.